The Tafsir of Al-Mu'awwidhatayn

Tafsir of Surah An-Nas (Mankind)

Revealed in Medina

In
the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1. Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of An-Nas.
2. The King of An-Nas.
3. The God of An-Nas.
4. From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws.
5. Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nas.
6. Of Jinn and An-Nas.

These are three attributes from the attributes
of the Lord, the Mighty and Majestic. They are Lordship, Sovereignty
and Divinity. Thus, He is the Lord of everything, the King of everything
and the God of everything. All things are created by Him, owned
by Him, and subservient to Him. Therefore, He commands whoever is
seeking protection to seek refuge with the One Who has these attributes
from the evil of the whisperer who withdraws. This (the whisperer)
is the devil that is assigned to man. For verily, there is not any
of the Children of Adam except that he has a companion that beautifies
wicked deeds for him. This devil will go to any lengths to confuse
and confound him. The only person who is safe is He Whom Allah
protects.

It
is confirmed in the Sahih that he (the Prophet )
said, "There is not a single one of you except that his
companion (a devil) has been assigned to him." They
(the Companions) said, "What about you, 0 Messenger of Allah?”
He replied, "Yes. However, Allah
has helped me against him and he has accepted Islam. Thus, he only
commands me to do good." [1]

It
is also confirmed in the two Sahihs from Anas, who reported the
story of Safiyyah when she came to visit the Prophet
while he was performing I’tikaf that he went out with her
during the night to walk her back to her house. So, two men from
the Ansãr met him (on the way). When they saw the Prophet
,
they began walking swiftly. So, the Messenger of Allah said, "Slow
down! This is Safiyyah bint Huyay!" They said, “Glory
be to Allah, O' Messenger of Allah!" He said, "Verily,
Shaytan runs in the Son of Adam like the running of the blood. And
verily, I feared that he might cast something into your hearts —
or he said — evil." [2]

“The devil who is squatting (perched) upon the heart of
the Son of Adam. So when he becomes absentminded and heedless he
whispers. Then, when he remembers Allah
he withdraws.” [3] Mujãhid
and Qatadah also said this. [4]

Mu’tamir bin Sulayman reported that his father said, “It
has been mentioned to me that Shaytan is Al-Waswas. He blows into
the heart of the Son of Adam when he is sad and when he is happy.
But when he (man) remembers Allah ,
Shaytan withdraws.” [5]

Al-’Awfi
reported from Ibn ‘Abbäs;

"The
whisperer."

“He is Shaytan. He whispers and then when he is obeyed, he
withdraws." [6]

As for Allah’s
saying;

"Who whispers in the breasts of An-Näs (mankind)."

Is
this specific for the Children of Adam as is apparent, or is it
general, including both mankind and Jinns? There are two views concerning
this. This is because they (the Jinns) are also included in the
usage of the word An-Nas (the people) in most cases.
Ibn Jarir said, “The phrase Rijalun min Al-Jinn[7]
(Men from the Jinns) has been used in reference to them, so it is
not strange for the word An-Nas to be applied to them also."[8]
Then Allah
says,

"Of
Jinn and An-Nãs."

Is
this explanatory of Allah’s
statement,

"Who whispers in the breasts of An-Nãs."

Then,
Allah
explains this by saying,

"0f Jinn and An-Nãs."

This
is supportive of the second view. It has also been said that Allah’s
saying,

"0f Jinn and An-Nãs."

is
an explanation of who is it that whispers into the breasts of mankind
from the devils of mankind and Jinns. This is similar to Allah’s
saying,

And
so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies - Shayatin among
mankind and Jinn, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a
delusion. (6:112)

Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn ‘Abbas said, “A man
came to the Prophet
and said, "O' Messenger of Allah! Sometimes I say things to
myself that I would rather fall from the sky than say (aloud openly)."
The Prophet
said, "Allah
is Most Great! Allah
is Most Great! All praise is due to Allah .
Who sent his (Shaytan’s) plot back as only a whisper."[9]
Abu Dãwud and An-Nasã’i also recorded this Hadith.[10]

This
is the end of the Tafsir. All praise and thanks are due to Allah
,
the Lord of all that exists.

Every
effort has been made to assure the accuracy of this publication.
If, however, any errors are noticed by the reader, we would kindly
request notification to be corrected in future editions.